This page contains all the footnotes from the book, and is designed to be a companion resource providing hyperlinks and additional resources which have been added since the book was released.

Big Questions Footnotes and Additional Resources

Question 2 – What do you believe?

[1] https://www.christianweek.org/re-thinking-phrase-Bible-says-believe-settles/


Question 3 – Why do you believe?

[2] https://cac.org/tricycle-forward-movement-2017-01-09/


Question 5 – Is the Bible relevant and reliable?

[4] “Binary thinking, also known as dichotomous thinking, happens when complex concepts, ideas, and problems are overly simplified into being one side or another. The grey area in the middle is ignored or goes unnoticed.” https://www.lifehack.org/881768/binary-thinking

[5] https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Book-of-Job

[6] https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/MAGAZINE-who-really-wrote-the-book-of-job-1.5434183

[7] https://www.beautifulchristianlife.com/blog/bible-first-corinthians-11-head-coverings

Additional Resources

Lifepoint Church (Wellington NZ): Sermon Series on Scripture
What it means to be ‘God-breathed’
Speaker: Matthew Scott


Question 6 – Is the Bible open to interpretation?

[8] https://www.christianweek.org/re-thinking-phrase-Bible-says-believe-settles/

[9] https://biologos.org/articles/long-life-spans-in-genesis-literal-or-symbolic/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogies_of_Genesis

[10] https://biologos.org/common-questions/how-should-we-interpret-the-genesis-flood-account

[11] https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_628.cfm

[12] 2 Timothy 3:16-17


Question 7 – If God is Love, why is God so violent?

[13] https://reknew.org/2017/04/the-god-who-stoops/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS9uH–vIS0 (start at 23.00 mins)

Additional Resources:


Question 8- Is it OK to have doubts about God?

[14] https://biologos.org/about-us

[15] https://capturingchristianity.com/


Question 10 – Do I have a specific ‘calling’ on my life?

Resources:

Knowing “God’s Will” For My Life


Question 11 – How can I make a difference in this world?

[16] “Luke’s Good News: God’s Justice” Richard Rohr’s Daily Devotional 6 July, 2021

[17] https://www.franciscanpenancelibrary.com/walk-humbly-with-god

[18] Luke 4:17-21 Jesus reads from Isaiah, and declares his mandate

[19]https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575479.pdf

[20] https://www.panaprium.com/blogs/i/fashion-brands-that-still-use-sweatshops

[21] https://www.unicef.org/rosa/what-we-do/child-protection/child-labour-and-exploitation

[22]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a9d512ae5274a7bd0047f8c/FINAL_DFID_BCL_Report_0203.pdf

[23] https://www.unicef.org/protection/children-recruited-by-armed-forces

[24] https://asiasociety.org/trafficking-children-prostitution-and-unicef-response

[25] https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575479.pdf

[26] https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/human-trafficking.html

[27] https://www.theclewerinitiative.org/modern-slavery


Question 12 – What is Sin and does it affect me?

[28] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/160513-theology-hell-history-christianity

[29] Parables of the lost sheep and lost coin.

[30] Jeremiah 31:3, Romans 8:35, 1 John 4:9-10

[31] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/elbert_hubbard_107558

[32] https://cac.org/leaving-the-garden-2017-08-23/

Further reading:

https://redeeminggod.com/bible-theology-topics/theology-sin/


Question 13 – Why is there evil in the world?

[33] https://cac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ANFET_Transcript_S3E6.pdf?_ga=2.29630015.1803886039.1630031451-173381352.1623364615

[34] Matthew 15:18-20, Philippians 4:8


Question 14 – Why is there suffering?

[35] Matthew 5:45

[36] The Medieval view of punishment was that the punishment for offense is greater if the difference in social status is greater. If you offended your neighbour, punishment would be small, but if you offended the mayor of the town, punishment would be greater. However, if you offended the king, punishment would be extreme. Since God is the king of kings, then the punishment must be even more extreme and eternal because God is eternal.

[37] https://www.gotquestions.org/fire-and-brimstone.html


Question 16 – Does a loving God send people to Hell?

[38] https://norsevsgreek.weebly.com/norse-goddesses.html

[39] https://www.britannica.com/place/Sodom-and-Gomorrah

[40] https://reknew.org/2008/01/the-case-for-annihilationism/

[41] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/universalism-will-everyone-finally-be-saved/

[42] https://www.amazon.com/What-Hell-Truth-Christian-Questions-ebook/dp/B07P9TZTL6

[43] https://youtu.be/urYuH7Ie66c

[44] https://whchurch.org/sermon/going-to-hell-in-a-nutshell/

Additional resources:


Question 17 – Is Science compatible with Faith?

[45] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method

[46] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationism

[47] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism

[48] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism

[49] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution

[50] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_evolution

[51] Colossians 1:15-17

[52] Lewis and Barnes, “A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos” Cambridge University Press, (2016)

[53] http://www.cs.unc.edu/~plaisted/ce/universe.html

[54] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Near_East

[56] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-is-a-mouse-like-a-giraffe.html

[57] Age of the Earth:

https://biologos.org/resources/how-old-is-the-earth

https://biologos.org/articles/multiple-lines-of-evidence-for-an-old-universe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_universe

Resources:

https://biologos.org/common-questions/

Quarks, Chaos and Christianity”, John Polkinghorne

A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos”, Lewis & Barnes

https://biologos.org/common-questions/what-do-fine-tuning-and-the-multiverse-say-about-god


Question 18 – What’s wrong with casual sex?

[58] https://www.verywellmind.com/lust-vs-love-what-s-the-difference-5194850

[58] I am using the term ‘committed relationship’ instead of marriage because it more accurately reflects reality. To say that a monogamous, committed relationship is wrong because rings have not been exchanged, is to apply a modern construct onto something that has not always existed. Committed relationships exist regardless of marital status. God sees the heart, not the ring.

[59] https://thoughtcatalog.com/kovie-biakolo/2014/09/this-is-what-is-really-wrong-with-casual-sex/

[60]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5376087_Hookups_and_Sexual_Regret_Among_College_Women

[61] https://thoughtcatalog.com/kovie-biakolo/2014/09/this-is-what-is-really-wrong-with-casual-sex/

[62] Wray Gregoire, Sheila, The Great Sex Rescue – The Lies You’ve been Taught and How to Recover what God Intended, Barker Books (2021)

[63] https://whchurch.org/sermon/god-sex-and-family/#!

[64] McCarthy, Margaret Harper. “Hedging One’s Bets: Courting Divorce.” In Torn Asunder: Children, the Myth of the Good Divorce, and the Recovery of Origins, 212-31. Edited by Margaret Harper McCarthy. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans / Humanum, 2017. (See especially pages 212-213). McCarthy cites a prior work by Barbara Defoe Whitehead as pointing her in this direction. That book is: Whitehead, Barbara Defoe. Why Are There No Good Men Left: The Romantic Plight of the New Single Woman. New York: Broadway, 2003.

[65] Wray Gregoire, Sheila, The Great Sex Rescue – The Lies You’ve been Taught and How to Recover what God Intended, Barker Books (2021), Ch 2

[66] https://rachelheldevans.com/blog/christians-masturbation

 

Further Resources

Shane Willard speaks clearly on the topic of the Spirituality of Sexuality, bringing historical and contextual understanding to the scriptures. Excellent content, well presented.


Question 19 – What about Sexual Preference and Gender Identity?

[67] Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:9

[68] A Sāmoan theological reflection: Christianity, sexuality and marginalisation, Rev Apelu Tielu https://insideout.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Join-this-Chariot.pdf (page 48)

Resources

References to homosexuality in the Bible:

https://www.forgeonline.org/blog/2019/3/8/what-about-romans-124-27

http://canyonwalkerconnections.com/forging-a-sacred-weapon-how-the-Bible-became-anti-gay/

Additional Resources

Growing up as a conservative Mormon in Texas, there was little in John’s upbringing that would have predicted he would become an ally for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Mormons. He discusses his transformation from homophobe to LGBT ally and his research on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Mormon experience from a sample of over 1,600 LGBT Mormons.


Question 20 – Intrinsic biases – how do I recognise them in my life?

[69] Brian McLaren, Why Don’t They Get It? Overcoming Bias in Others (and Yourself) (Self-published: 2019), e-book. https://cac.org/author/bmclaren/ How to move beyond the biases: Adapted from Brian McLaren, Jacqui Lewis, with Richard Rohr, “Why Can’t We See?,” October 5, 2020, in Learning How to See, episode 1 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2020), podcast, https://cac.org/podcasts/why-cant-we-see/

[70] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_privilege

[72] https://youtu.be/4K5fbQ1-zps

[73] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism , https://youtu.be/ZJXhyZUbgn0

[73] https://www.jewishhistory.org/the-black-death/

[74] https://cac.org/podcast/learning-how-to-see/


Question 21 – What determines your values?

[75] https://ywampodcast.net/shows/teaching/the-seven-spheres-of-influence-loren-cunningham/

[76] https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/08/why-facebook-wont-stop-pushing-propaganda/

[77] See “The Hidden Persuaders” by Vance Packard

[78] https://techtalk.gfi.com/if-its-free-youre-probably-the-product/

[79] https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/womens-razors-marketing

[80] https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/431808/stuff-apologising-for-racism-against-maori-a-very-positive-move


Question 22 – How to deal with offense?

[81] https://www.self-directed.org/tp/special-snowflake-syndrome/

[82] https://youtu.be/pbihoXj0QwM


Question 23 – What is truth?

[83] https://www.britannica.com/topic/postmodernism-philosophy

[84] conspiracy theory | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica

Resources

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/202101/spiritual-conspiracists

https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/13-05-2020/how-to-identify-a-conspiracy-theory-and-stop-the-spread-of-misinformation/

How to identify a Conspiracy Theory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRoraxSmT-M


Question 24 – Binary Thinking – Is it good or bad?

[85] The deliberate separation of one group of people from other groups

[86] The woman at the well; The woman caught in adultery

[87] Rohr, Richard “The Universal Christ” pg 205, Malila Typesetting Company, 2019


Question 25 – What is my World View?

[88] 1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:17

[89] Matthew 28:20, 1 Colossians 1:17

[90] Genesis 1:26-27

[91] Richard Rohr, Daily Devotional, CAC, Friday March 5, 2021


Question 26 – What is my responsibility to the Environment?

[92] https://www.eauk.org/church/resources/theological-articles/why-should-christians-care-for-the-planet.cfm

[93] https://www.eauk.org/church/resources/theological-articles/why-should-christians-care-for-the-planet.cfm

[94] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overexploitation

Resources:

https://nzchristiannetwork.org.nz/christians-the-environment-and-creation-care/

https://thinkingmatters.org.nz/2020/05/a-christian-response-to-eco-anxiety/

https://arocha.org.uk/